We’ve all had fitness goals at some point in our lives, whether it was to shed some weight, keep a strict and fit gym routine or just to stay on top of our health needs. Sometimes you were unsure of the result of the goals you set, but you still set your goals and hoped for the best. Let’s break down goal setting for your fitness needs.
Let’s get the important bits out of the way before we get into setting those fitness goals!
What is a fitness goal?
One particular issue that a lot of us have with goal-setting is that we set our goals way too high and when we struggle to achieve them we quickly lose interest.
Fitness means completely different things for each and every one of us, we’re genetically different and respond to different types of training differently. Your fitness goal could be reducing fat, increasing muscle mass or even running a marathon at a specific time in your life. You need to spend some time defining what fitness means to you.
Download our checklist, Setting Achievable Wellness Goals, to help you when planning to reach your next goal.
What are the most common fitness goals?
Truth be told! The most common fitness goals are not for everyone. The days of the one size fits all approach are over, however, the most common fitness goals are losing weight or increasing muscle mass the more uncommon goals, are increasing strength and endurance performance. Here’s a break down on how you can classify your fitness goals;
Weight loss
This is a great goal to set for yourself after having your baby or if you’ve had too many cheat days in the last winter season.
Increasing muscle mass
If you’re into looking good, then building some muscle could be a goal to help you feel good and it can also help you reduce your hypermobility. Hypermobility is the overextension of a joint beyond its normal range of motion.
Improving strength
Who doesn’t want to have more strength, you might want to improve your strength more than the rest of us for work purposes or to help improve your performance in your chosen sport.
Increasing endurance performance to lower time in a marathon
Maybe you’re looking to tick off that marathon you’ve been meaning run off bucket list, but it's important to note that training in one way, be it all endurance or all power without a balance between the two you can have a negative impact, so make sure you strike gold with balancing the two. You can learn more about your power and endurance profile with Body Fit, a simple, personalised and easy to follow plan for those trying to improve their fitness.
What are SMART fitness goals?
When setting goals in any area of your life. It's important to follow this SMART method:
Specific
Be specific and deliberate about the goal you’re setting, write down what you want the outcome to be.
Measurable
Nothing comes out of setting a goal you can’t measure, you need to over time see some kind of progress.
Attainable
Can you actually attain this goal, or is it just wishful thinking?
Realistic
Be realistic about every step you take towards achieving your goal.
Time-Based
How much time will it take to REACH your desired goal?
One more thing…
Mind over matter ✔✔✔
Healthy thinking promotes healthy living! Whatever goal you now have in mind, start small and don’t expect to see changes immediately, it’ll happen over time. Get your mind in check and everything else will follow. Don’t try to do too much too quickly you might find exercise to be a chore when it should be enjoyable.
Decide what fitness goal you want to achieve! ✔✔✔
Know what you want to work on and write down the steps to take to get to that fitness goal. If you don’t exercise at all, start small and maybe train three times a week, and then you can increase gradually from there.
Never underestimate yourself! ✔✔✔
You’re capable of doing anything you set your mind to, but don’t over exert yourself, that's why setting smaller attainable goals is just as important to reaching your bigger end goal.
Remember: weight + cardio training = the key to a holistic fitness
A combination of both weight and cardio training is important to help improve overall health and wellness no matter the goal you have set for yourself.
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The following are goals that you may have and when wanting to achieve that goal you would want to choose the training that would be best for you to achieve these goals.
Hypertrophy:
6-12 reps
3-6 sets
30-90 Seconds of rest in between sets
To increase muscle mass follow a hypertrophy plan.
Strength:
6 reps or less
2-6 sets
2-5 minutes of rest in between sets
Power:
Single effort:
1-2 reps
3-5 sets
2-5 minutes of rest in between sets
Multiple Effort:
3-5 reps
3-5 sets
2-5 minutes of rest in between sets
To improve strength and power follow a strength or power training plan.
Muscular Endurance:
12 or more reps
2-3 sets
30 seconds or less rest in between sets
If your goal is to reduce body fat you want to follow a more muscular endurance plan.
Cardio:
Steady state cardio - longer duration training, lasting for at least 45 minutes or longer and keeping your heart rate as steady as possible from start to finish.
Interval cardio - shorter duration training sometimes lasting between 20-30 minutes. Use different intervals such as sprinting for 30 seconds and resting for a minute.
Cardio is important to help you burn body fat which will help with your weightloss fitness goal, but it is also important for improving oxygen usage in the body and improving cardiovascular health.
Like all things in life mastering your fitness will take time, you might not lose 10kilos in a week or see an increase in your muscle mass in that same timeframe. Don’t be disheartened when you don’t see results straight away. Every one of us adapts to training differently and that’s is why it is so important to set realistic goals for yourself. Exercise is not a quick fix, it takes time, dedication and effort.
Eating right will help you reach your fitness goals more effectively. So, it might be a good idea to get your eating right and build your fitness goals on a strong foundation. Learn more about eating right for your body with Health Fit - an easy to adapt, personalised plan for those trying to improve their overall health.
